The Maze Runner
by randommonks
Summary: The Tributes of the 74th Annual Hunger Games find themselves trapped in the arena without any memories of their past. Can they find a way to coexist while simultaneously unravelling the mystery of how to escape with their lives? Inspired by the James Dashner book of the same name.
1. Chapter 1: A Welcoming of Sorts

I suddenly jerked awake, startled by how quiet and dark my surroundings were. It was so pitch black that I questioned whether my eyes were truly open or not.

_Where am I? What's going on? Am I dreaming?_

I raised my hand in front of my face and gently pressed on my cheeks. It didn't feel like a dream. I lifted my hands up slowly and almost immediately connected with a smooth, metal surface above my head. I pressed on the ceiling, gently at first and then with increasing pressure, becoming frustrated when it didn't yield a single inch. I then lowered my hands to the side and felt outward and forward, meeting the same resistance a few inches from my shoulders.

_I'm in a box. _

I could barely move inside it. I realized that there was just enough room for me to sit straight up with my legs crossed.

_Why am I here? How did I get in this thing? _

_Why don't I remember anything?_

My last thought hit me hard and my breath caught in my throat. I realized that I knew nothing of life before waking up in the dark. I didn't remember parents, siblings, home, or friends. I knew that my name was Katniss. I knew that I was breathing air and that if the box was sealed too tightly I would run out quickly. I knew that the country I lived in depended on coal for power. I knew everything a girl my age should know, just not the details of my personal life.

Frustrated, I pounded on the wall of the box.

"Hey! Is there anyone there? Get me out of here!" I screamed, banging on the metal surface until my palms ached.

I began to panic and my breath grew shallow.

_Have I been left here to die? Would anyone miss me? Why-_

My thoughts were interrupted by a man's thundering voice announcing a countdown.

"10. 9. 8. 7. 6."

My stomach twisted in anticipation and fear as I braced myself for the end of the countdown. Would the box simply explode? Would it burst into flame? I suddenly found the idea of exploding in darkness terrifying and renewed my struggles to escape, leaning against one side with my shoulder while bracing my feet against the opposite side and pushing frantically.

"5. 4. 3. 2. 1."

Suddenly, the walls of the box fell away from me. As the metal thumped down onto the ground, I ended up sprawled on the ground and blinded by intense light. Relived that I was still alive, I felt the tension around my chest loosen.

Squeezing my eyes shut in an attempt to block out the sunlight, I tried to focus on what my other senses were telling me. The air was cool and fresh compared to the stale box and a light wind played with the loose hairs on my neck. I could hear leaves on trees rubbing together and, somewhere in the distance, cows and chickens calling.

"What the hell is going on?" I heard a young boy's voice cry out. I was startled to realize I wasn't alone. Soon, various other voices joined his, swirling together louder and louder until my head pounded.

I squinted carefully through my eyelids, not wanting to blind myself after having been in complete darkness for an unknown amount of time. Shapes slowly made themselves clear to me. I was sitting on a metal square and the shell of my box was collapsed around me, reflecting the bright sunlight above.

Turning my head toward the voices, I found that I was accompanied by at least 20 others, all seemingly as confused as I was. We were sitting in a clearing surrounded by high trees. A wooden house, three stories tall, sat between two large oak trees to my right and a red barn could be seen across the clearing. Everything appeared bright and perfect- the grass had been carefully trimmed and the trees, bushes, and flowers around us were a burst of green leaves, brown trunk, and colorful petals. I was certain I had never been in such a pristine setting before in my life.

"Hey, you ok?" a blonde boy asked me. He held out his hand to help me to my feet. "I'm Peeta."

"Katniss," I replied, bouncing to my feet with a slight smile of thanks.

"Hey, you're wearing the same number as me," he said, pointing to a 12 stitched onto his jacket.

Looking down I realized that I was wearing an identical, waterproof jacket down to the number. Exploring further, I discovered I had a watch on my left wrist, a utility belt looped through my pant loops with a small, metal water canteen attached, and a new pair of running shoes.

I looked up at Peeta, not shaking the feeling that he seemed familiar, as if from a dream.

"Are you ok?" he asked, concern lining his face. "Do you need to sit down again? Maybe get out of the sun?"

"No, I'm fine," I assured him. "I just…"

"What?" he asked, puzzled.

"Nothing," I sighed. "It's just that I can't remember anything before I woke up in the dark and it's unnerving."

"Oh good, it's you too," he breathed. "I thought I was losing my mind, honestly. I can't remember my mom or dad, where I come from, my neighbors, my childhood…nothing. It's all just a blank. But I can remember the proper technique to get a loaf of bread to rise and the proper proportions to make a chocolate frosting."

"Maybe you were a baker in a previous life," I joked which produced a short snort from Peeta.

I took a closer look at the other people in the area. They all looked to be of similar age, although one tiny girl looked particularly vulnerable. My heart suddenly ached for her and I pinched my eyes closed, trying to remember why I would feel this way. I didn't know her. Did I?

"Do you want to go introduce ourselves?" Peeta suggested, jerking his head toward the others.

"Might as well," I said, shrugging.

Just as we had reached a small group of them, an angry shout drew our attention.

"I don't give a flying shit who you are!" an imposing blonde boy shouted to a dark haired girl half his size. "What the hell am I doing here and how do I get out!"

"Get out of what?" I muttered to Peeta as the girl shouted back at him, her face reddening.

He looked at me peculiarly.

"You haven't noticed, Katniss?" he asked slowly. "We're surrounded by a huge wall. We're trapped."

He pointed through the tree line where I noticed, finally, a tall blockade, covered in thick patches of ivy, surrounding us in every direction in what seemed to be a perfect square. The wall was hidden at times by tall foliage from where I stood, but it seemed to have no beginning and no end. Peeta was right. We were trapped. The desperation that almost overwhelmed me in the tiny box slowly came creeping back.

"Look we're not helping matters by arguing or panicking," a red headed girl stated loudly. "Let's just…introduce ourselves. Everyone still remembers their names right? Let's start with the two people wearing a number one."

So we went down the line, giving our name and the number sewn into our jacket.

"Glimmer. One," a strikingly beautiful girl barked, crossing her arms and staring belligerently.

"Marvel. Also, one," her numerical partner said, smiling easily at the rest of us.

"Cato. Two," the angry boy from earlier grunted.

"Clove. Unfortunately also two," mumbled the unfortunate girl that had been on the receiving end of his tirade earlier.

As so it went down the line. The redhead who had spoken up to the group said her name was Vivien.

"Rue. Eleven," the minuscule girl chirped with a bright smile. "It's nice to meet all of you."

"Thresh. Eleven," a boy resembling a bear rumbled.

After Peeta and I had introduced ourselves, the group fell into silence again.

"So," Rue piped. "Is anyone hungry? I could get us some apples from the orchards over there."

She pointed to a grove of trees next to a paddock of animals near the barn.

"Good idea," Peeta agreed with a gentle smile her way. "There's no point in wondering why we're here. Let's try to make the best of it for now and explore what we have to work with."

Before he could go any further, however, a face appeared in the sky and a voice boomed down to us.

"Tributes! Welcome to the 74th annual Hunger Games! I'm sure you all are wondering what is going on but that is something you'll have to figure out on your own!"

He tapped the side of his nose with a cheeky little grin. I wanted to kill him. The sudden urge for murder was unexpected but not entirely unwelcome.

"We have provided you with all the sustenance you should need during your stay as well as several clues on how you may escape your current…predicament, let's say. To the audience at home, I hope you enjoy this little change to the regular pace of the Games! To the Tributes in the arena, may the odds be ever in your favor!"

The man's chubby face disappeared, leaving the other "Tributes" and I speechless and stunned.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This story is inspired by the novel _The Maze Runner_ by James Dashner. It's a very good series if you're a fan of the Hunger Games. Thanks for reading and reviews are very much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2: The Wall

Games? Anger grew in the pit of my stomach and I balled my fists at my side as I continued to stare up at the patch of sky where the face had been. This was just a game put on by someone for an "audience's" _amusement_? Exactly how were we selected for these Games? Did we sign up? Were we forced here against our will?

The clearing suddenly burst into shouting and unanswerable questions.

"What did he mean by Games?"

"Are we being punished for something?"

"Are they planning on feeding us during these Games?"

"Do we get to go home if we win?"

"Look enough of this," Cato shouted, frustrated. "We aren't getting anything accomplished yelling at the sky. Let's get to explore the area and see if we can find these clues that pudgy bastard was referencing. One and three- you're with me and Clove. We'll go see what's inside that house. 4,5,6- you're another team. Head toward the woods and see if you can find anything useful. 7,8,9- check along the wall and see if you can find a break or anything interesting. 10,11,12- you guys take the barn and fields."

Cato sighed and ran a hand through his blonde hair. "We'll meet back here in 2 hours and go from there. Agreed?"

Not knowing what else to do, everybody mumbled their assent and set off to their assignments.

"So what are your special skills?" Rue asked, peering up at us shyly as we trudged toward the barn.

"What do you mean?" Peeta asked, puzzled.

"Well Thresh and I both found that we can recognize the types of trees over there in the orchard and some of the crops growing in the field behind the barn," Rue replied, a bright light entering her eyes as she pointed. "So I guess I just assumed that everyone here had a special skill that would help us survive in this square."

"Actually Becca and I are pretty familiar with the care and breed of the livestock by the barn," Glenn from 11 said. "That's odd that it's pretty much all we know."

"What about you and Peeta?" Rue asked, peeking up at me.

"Well, I know how to bake bread and cakes, so there's that I guess," Peeta joked. "A lot of good that'll do us unless we find that the cows produce flour."

"And you Katniss?" Rue asked.

I thought as we approached a group of black and white cows, who greeted us with melancholy moos.

"I don't know, Rue," I replied, my stomach sinking. "Maybe I don't have something to offer the group."

"Sure you do, Katniss!" she chirped brightly. "You just haven't found out what it is yet. You'll see."

I gave her a smile to thank her for her confidence but my hopes weren't raised. I didn't feel any innate skill resting inside of me like the others seemed to have. It had me wondering again- why me? I didn't appear to have any particular use. To be honest, some of the others who were trapped in here with us gave off a particularly useless feel as well.

"Well, looks like they gave us 4 milk cows, 3 heifers, 2 calves, and a pretty mean bull," Glenn noted, leaning against the corral where the cows were being kept. "How does it look in that chicken coop?"

"There are 20 laying hens and a couple of roosters," Becca replied, sticking her head out of the wooden coop. "There's enough eggs in here for a couple of days for all of us too and even some in an incubator."

"It's almost as if whoever sent us here expected us to live here long term," Peeta mumbled.

The barn was surprisingly empty and clean with a fresh layer of hay covering the floor. We stopped by the orchards long enough for Rue to grab an apple for everyone in our group and Thresh plucked a couple of large oranges. My mouth watered at the sight of them. I vaguely remembered their sour-sweet flavor.

"Wait until we get back with the rest of the group," Rue laughed, noticing my hungry expression.

I returned her laugh easily and hoisted her on my shoulders, piggybacking her back to the clearing.

Most of the other groups had already returned and I could see Cato and Clove's group returning from the house.

"Those look amazing!" Vivian cried as Rue laid out the fruit.

"There's plenty of food and dried goods in the fridge and pantry in the house," Clove said as they approached. "Anyone know how to cook?"

"I think I do," Peeta volunteered. "You want to come help me?"

I turned to him, surprised that he would ask me of all people to help.

"I don't think I'm any good in the kitchen," I muttered.

"Don't worry, it's easy," he reassured me with a grin. "Did the rest of you find anything else?"

"There is no entrance or exit in the wall," said the boy with a 8 on his jacket. "We circled the entire perimeter and even tried to climb up. There were a couple of metallic bugs that drove us back though. It was almost as if they didn't want us to see over the wall."

"That's very strange," Cato muttered, rubbing his chin. I was glad to see that he was calmer now that the shock of landing in a foreign environment had waned. He looked strong enough to snap my head off without a single thought.

"Well, let's dwell on it over a nice warm meal," Peeta said, rubbing his hands together. "Did you see a dining room or tables and chairs inside?"

"Yeah there was a large room that looks like it can hold all of us with enough seating," Clove replied. "If you guys will make lunch, the rest of us can set the table and get drinks and such."

Having our tasks, we split up again. I was rather surprised by how well everything was falling into place as far as order went; nobody had questioned the instructions given so far.

I followed Peeta into the house and stopped at the doorway, stunned by what I saw inside. The interior was furnished with bright and sparkling clean furniture that curved and swirled. Most of the chairs in the living room seemed to serve more form than function and a large, sparkling chandelier hung from the ceiling in each room. I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in the immaculate, white-walled house.

"This is some place, huh," Peeta muttered, as awed as I was.

"Well are you going to get to lunch or are you just going to gawk?" Cato snorted, coming up behind us and gently pushing Peeta and I forward toward the kitchen. "There are bedrooms upstairs so we can find where we're supposed to sleep later."

"Holy cow!" Peeta exclaimed as we walked into the kitchen. "I may not remember where I come from but I am 100% positive I've never cooked in anything like this."

Grinning from ear to ear, he started pulling ingredients and utensils from the fridge, pantry, and drawers, eagerly rifling through each before reluctantly closing each after finding what he needed. He rapidly gave me instructions for what he wanted me to do and the room quickly filled with the aroma of baking bread.

"See, I told you it was easy," he said as we pulled half a dozen loaves of bread from the expansive oven. "You were a great helper."

Blushing, I turned away while I placed the steaming loaves onto the cooling racks. I snuck a quicky look back at Peeta, who was scooping scrambled eggs and sausages onto a serving dish. He seemed oddly familiar to me, as if he had a special significance to me previously. Could it be…

"Is the food ready to go?" a voice interrupted us. It was the boy from 7 and several of the other children, standing in the doorway with starved looks in their eyes.

"Yeah why don't you guys come and grab the food. We'll meet you in the dining room," Peeta replied, piling the dirty pots and dishes into the wide sink.

"Don't worry about those," the boy from 9 said, nodding his head at the sink. "You cooked, Vanessa and I will do the dishes. We all have to figure out a way for us to be useful after all."

"Wow, all this looks incredibly guys," Rue whispered as we sat down.

"I agree," Marvel said, spooning a large helping of syrup onto his pancakes. "I don't know about the rest of you, but this is probably the best meal I've had in my entire life. I vote that Peeta and Katniss take care of the cooking from now on."

"It was mostly Peeta," I mumbled. "I just helped."

"Yes but a chef is only as good as his help," Peeta said kindly.

The table grew quiet after that, interrupted only by the sounds of forks against porcelain and the occasional burp.

"Why _do_ you think we're here?" Newton, the boy from 3, mumbled into this plate, as if unable to contain it further. He seemed almost hesitant to receive an answer.

"Maybe we all volunteered or something," Vivian stated confidently.

"Yeah but then why did they wipe out our memories and stick a 40 foot, unclimbable wall around us?" retorted Clove.

"Does it matter why we're here?" Cato snorted, giving Newton a rough pat on the back that sent him tumbling forward into his eggs. "Let's just make the best of things now. I have a feeling that none of us have seen conditions this good before and probably won't once we leave."

"IF we leave," someone to my right muttered darkly.

"I'd agree with that," Peeta said to Cato, either not hearing or ignoring the previous comment. "I say we enjoy this life as long as we can get it."

"Well you guys enjoy yourselves here," Becca said, rising from the table. "Glenn and I are going to go look after our livestock. How are the bedrooms set up?"

"From what we could tell, it was girls on the 2nd floor and guys on the 3rd floor," Cato replied. "They've put our numbers on the doors and we're all sharing rooms. The good news is that we aren't sharing beds."

The guys sighed in relief while the girls simply rolled their eyes.

After lunch, Peeta and I took inventory of everything in the kitchen. He calculated we had enough dried and fresh food for about a week just in the kitchen stores alone. We probably could have an infinite supply if we were able to efficiently manage the animals and vegetables growing outside.

When Glenn and Becca brought back 3 chickens for our dinner that night, Peeta simply stared at them.

"Am I supposed to cook the feathers, too?" he asked, eyeing the dead birds.

"Don't be silly," I retorted, grabbing each by their legs and taking them outside. "I'll take care of the carcasses and bring them back in."

It was surprisingly easy work for me to pluck and pull the entrails out of the birds. Maybe this was my skill- butchering.

"Well I'm glad you knew what to do with them," Becca sighed, sitting beside me on the front step and mimicking my actions with another bird. "Glenn and I were arguing how we should bring them back to you. We knew how to kill them but not how to prep them to be cooked."

"Don't worry about it," I replied, laughing slightly. "We're all here to help each other."

But as I said that, an unsettling knot grew in my stomach; as if I knew that wasn't altogether true.

I grew quiet after that, not being able to rid myself of the foreboding feeling. I was quiet preparing dinner and through it. Peeta seemed worried and frequently peeked over at me. While the cleaners cleared the table, he pulled me outside.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worry lining his forehead.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" I shot back, instantly defensive without really knowing why. "You don't know me. Maybe this is just the way I normally act."

"Katniss," he said simply, raising his eyebrow.

"Fine," I relented with a small sigh. "Do you ever get the feeling that we're not supposed to be working together so well? I mean, we've been in here for less than 12 hours and we've already got jobs set up and everything."

"Well, what would have us do instead?" he asked. "Try to kill each other for resources and the Victor can then stand on top of our bodies and proclaim him or herself to be the king of the country?"

I smiled, embarrassed.

"Yeah, I know you're right," I relented. "I just have the feeling that this is not all that it seems. I just think we should be careful."

"I agree, and I think everyone would agree with that," Cato's voice interrupted us. "Sorry to break up this little lovefest but it's getting late. I think-"

He was suddenly cut off by the sound of whirring motors and an odd sucking sound that emanated from beyond the wall. I tensed and turned to face the sound, feeling as if my previous concerns were being realized- there was something on the other side of the wall and it didn't sound friendly. We couldn't see the source of the noise but it sounded very close, as if just on the other side of the ivy covered concrete.

"Let's get inside," Cato muttered as a chilling, shrill squeal was heard. "Come on."

Rattled, I followed the boys back into the house where the rest of our party was gathered in the living room, sprawled on the soft, purple couches.

"Did you guys hear that?" Cato demanded.

"Hear what?" Vivian replied slowly. "Glenn let out a fart earlier that-"

"Not that!" Cato hissed. "There's something out there beyond the wall. It sounded big and-"

He shook his head, unable to vocalize what we had heard.

"Whatever it was, I doubt it'll get over that fence," I replied, uncertainty clear in my voice.

"Regardless, we'll need to set up a watch for tonight just in case," Cato replied. "It looks like you were right, Katniss. We still need to be careful."

Cato, Clove, Marvel, and Glimmer volunteered for and agreed to split watch duties for the night. The rest of us went upstairs to our assigned rooms. The last door in the girls' floor had my and Rue's number burned into the wood door.

Inside , two beds were arranged side by side with a small table in between them, on which rested a lamp and a glowing clock displaying the current time- 9:49 PM. On the walls opposite the door and the beds were two wide windows framed by leaf green curtains. The bedspreads were a brown and tan pattern and completed the look that we were surrounded by the forest.

"Wow!" Rue exclaimed, staring wide eyed at our room.

I was just as astonished as her and hesitated to enter the room. Rue, however, had no such reservations and jumped onto the nearest bed, scattering the tidy bedspread and pillows all over the floor.

"This is incredible!" she shouted, happily jumping on her bed.

"I guess I should be glad we're on the third floor above you guys, huh?" a voice laughed from the hall.

"It's incredible," I murmured, moving to stand next to Peeta as he leaned against the doorframe. "Who would have done all this for us?"

"Either someone who really likes us or really hates us," he replied with a shrug, still watching Rue jump on her bed with a smile. "Just like whatever's on the other side of the wall could be there to kill us if we tried to escape or could be there to keep out intruders."

"You think we'll ever know?" I asked him quietly.

"Katniss, we've been in here for one day," he repeated. "Let's leave the mystery solving at least until after we've gotten a good night's sleep. Don't worry about whatever's out there. I have a feeling Cato can take on one of those by himself with no problem."

Smiling up at him quickly, I quickly reigned in Rue's enthusiasm, knowing that if she got herself too worked up she'd never get to sleep. She walked over to the dresser and pulled out the top drawer.

"There are pajamas and spare clothes in here," she exclaimed, surprised. "Looks like this one is mine and the one below it is yours."

"That's my cue to leave," Peeta said, backing out and closing the door behind him. "Good night girls."

Laughing, I helped Rue change into very soft pajamas and tucked her into bed.

"Goodnight, Rue," I whispered, tucking a stray hair back under her ear.

Yawning, she bid me goodnight and promptly fell asleep. All of this, the bedtime ritual and the sense of comfort of having someone her age near, felt incredibly familiar to me. Shaking my head, I turned out the light and stared at the tree swaying through the window until sleep found me.

I was in a dark shaft going deep into the earth inside an elevator that rattled on chains and scraped against a wall of rock. Deeper and deeper, the rumbling continuing. Deeper still and all light disappeared; the pressure around my chest tightened. I couldn't breathe. As I began to panic and claw at the walls of the elevator, I suddenly heard someone calling my name.

"Katniss. Katniss. Katniss!"

I jerked awake with a gasp and realized that the rumbling wasn't just in my dream. The entire house was shaking while the sound of metal on stone could be heard through the walls of the house.

"Katniss, geez you can sleep through anything," Peeta's face was suddenly in my view.

"What's going on?" I asked, still dazed from sleep.

"You know as much as I do," he replied, staring out the window.

"You guys should get out here," Marvel said, sticking his head into the room before sprinting back down the hallway.

Peeta and I followed him outside after we told Rue to stay put. Once we were outside the confines of the house, the noise became incredibly overbearing. Even with my hands clamped over my ears, I could feel the grinding and rumbling in my very bones.

Staring around the yard, there was nothing that would suggest itself to be the source of the noise. Suddenly, stillness and calm surrounded us again. I cautiously lowered my arms.

"What was that?" Rue asked, having followed us despite my orders.

"I don't know," Cato murmured, still staring out at the wall. "It sounded like it was coming from everywhere though."

"You think it was those things we heard earlier?" Peeta asked.

"I doubt it," Newton replied. "That sounded mechanical. It had a definite start time and a definite stop time. It wasn't coming from something within the wall so I doubt we'll ever find out what it was."

"Think it'll happen every night?" Glimmer asked, her eyes wide.

"We'll find out tomorrow," Cato replied, his voice hardening. "Let's get back to sleep. We don't know what tomorrow will bring and I'd rather us be in top form in case we need to meet something."

Sleep did not come as easily this time. Questions and worries swirled in my mind until it was just a jumble of thoughts and images.

"Are you asleep?" Rue whispered.

"No," I replied, turning to face her bed.

"Can I come sleep with you?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course," I replied, lifting my blankets and giggling when she snuggled close against me.

Reveling in the warmth and familiarity of having a smaller body next to mine, sleep came easier and more peacefully.

I was shaken awake just as light was peeking through the windows by Peeta. I quickly shushed him when I realized Rue was still asleep. I slid out of bed as quietly as possible and led Peeta into the hallway.

"Is something wrong?" I whispered.

"Cato said he has something to show us," he replied as he led me down the stairs.

"Good morning, sunshine," Cato greeted with a grim smile. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough, which is more I can say to you," I replied, noticing the dark shadows under his eyes. "What's up?"

"The walls have opened," he replied pointing to the right of the house. "Just as the sky started lighting, the rumbling and grinding started up again, but quieter and shorter. Gaps in the wall appeared in the middle of each side of the wall."

"What's on the other side?" Peeta asked, staring into the gap closest to us.

"As far as we can tell," Cato said, "a Maze."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks so much for reading! Reviews are very much appreciated!

As a side note, I am looking for a beta for this story, hopefully someone that is familiar with the Hunger Games as well as the Maze Runner (but I understand if they've never read MR since it's not as well known). If you'd like to give up a few hours a week emailing back and forth with me, please let me know through PM!


	3. Chapter 3: Exposed

I slowly approached the entrance nearest the house, almost entranced by it.

"No," Peeta said, grabbing my arm roughly. "We don't know what's out there. Remember all those noises we heard last night?"

"That's not all that's new," Clove said, pointing into the woods. "I found a small shack that definitely wasn't there before. It's filled with weapons- knives, swords, bow and arrows, clubs. You name it, it looks like it's in there."

"Well let's grab some weapons and see what's out there," I replied, frustrated.

I was tired of being boxed in and a chance to explore beyond the walls excited me.

"Do you even know how to handle a weapon?" Peeta asked.

"Let's go find out," Cato said, motioning to Clove to lead the way.

We followed her past large oaks and swaying willows until a small, wooden structure appeared wedged in front of the intersection of two walls. Its wood was cracked and graying and it appeared to be quiet old.

"The door practically fell off when I opened it," Clove said, kicking at warped door lying on the ground. She gestured us inside.

The shack had no windows and it took several moments before my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The inside was lined wall to wall with metal and wooden weapons. They hung from hooks dug into the ceiling and walls, swaying slightly from the wind blowing through the door. I saw a dozen swords of varying length, one that looked taller than me; knives was displayed in a fan-like arrangement under the swords. Cato emitted a loud curse when his head collided with a club hanging upside-down from the rafters.

My attention was suddenly drawn to a silver bow and a leather quiver of arrows. I picked up the bow and tested the tension on the string.

"You sure you're not going to be gouging your own eyes out with that?" Cato teased, smirking.

In response, I whipped out an arrow and notched it on the bow, pointing it inches away from his still grinning head. The shack was so small, my elbow brushed a leather shield hung on the wall.

"Want to test it?" I replied playfully.

"Ok easy there," he laughed, pulling the longest sword off its hook. "I do think it's best if we get acclimated with our weapons before we have to use them."

Clove picked up a set of knives and, almost without thought, stuck each of them methodically through her belt.

"Peeta?" Cato asked, cocking an eyebrow when he made no move toward the weapons.

"I think I'll stay and make breakfast for the rest of the group," he said. "I don't think I'm qualified to use any of those."

"Suit yourself," Cato shrugged.

As Cato and Clove walked off to the side to practice with their knives and sword, I strung an arrow again onto the bow and pointed the tip at a knot in a nearby tree. Inhale. Aim. Exhale. Fire.

I hit the center of the knot.

"Not bad," Clove muttered from several feet away. "Remind me never to piss you off."

"Are we ready to go?" I asked.

"Yeah," Cato replied. "Looks like we're as familiar with these as you are with yours. Makes our situation even stranger, doesn't it?"

Humming in assent, I led the way to the nearest gap in the wall. Looking out, a giant slab of ivy covered wall sat about 10 feet away, running parallel to the walls we stood between. It ended abruptly and another wall continued several feet past it, eventually turning sharply and disappearing around the corner.

"Geez, how are we supposed to navigate this thing?" Clove asked breathlessly.

"Slowly, for now," Cato replied, leading us forward. "Keep your eyes open. Remember that thing we heard last night."

"Wait, we need to be able to find our way back here," I warned. "If we get lost out there, we may never find our way back."

"Good point," Cato murmured. "What do you suggest?"

"The ivy," I replied. "We can lay a trail of ivy down behind us as we go. Cut some down."

Nodding, Cato and Clove set to work, chopping at the ivy covering the walls. Peeta came to stand beside me, his arms folded and forehead furled.

"I don't like you going out there," he muttered. "What if something happens? How will we know if you've hurt yourselves or worse?"

"That guy said that we had to find the clues to get us out of here," I replied. "I'm willing to bet that they can be found out in the Maze."

"Tell the others to stay put," Cato instructed Peeta. "We don't need anyone else going into this right now. There's still plenty to do around the clearing so keep them occupied with something."

Nodding, Peeta stepped back, away from the entrance to the Maze.

"I'll expect you guys back by lunch," he stated.

"Definitely," I replied, Cato and Clove agreeing as well. "See you when we get back."

The three of us set off slowly to our left, dropping a section of ivy every few feet to mark our progress.

"Keep your guard up, girls," Cato muttered, sword at the ready. "There's something out here and I wouldn't want it to catch us unawares."

We crept forward carefully, weapons at the ready. My arms soon grew tired from holding the bow up with an arrow strung but I kept fresh in my mind the sound of the unknown that moved through the maze. Its shrieks still sent chills down my back. However, after 2 hours in the maze and accidentally doubling back several times on our own trail, we didn't find any sign of a sentinel or even the outskirts of the maze.

"Let's head back, guys," Clove suggested, patting her stomach.

"Ok," Cato agreed, hesitating slightly. "But I want to come back out again for longer. I have a feeling we aren't anywhere near the end of this maze."

I silently agreed with Cato in that the Maze seemed endless. We had been walking in as straight a line as we could away from the entrance for hours. The only thing we saw were endless ivy covered walls and several times we noticed a silver bug-like creature, about the size of my hand, skittering after us, hiding in the ivy when it was caught spying.

When we finally came back to the entrance to our clearing, Peeta waved us down, his face pale.

"What's wrong?" I asked, running toward him, Cato and Clove closely following.

"I couldn't stop them," he replied, breathless. "A group of them saw that the Maze was opened and were determined to go in. They've been gone for a couple of hours now and we have no clue where or how to find them."

"We should organize a search party-" I began before Cato cut me off.

"No, you've been out there," he argued. "You saw how it was out there. It's nearly impossible for us to follow them. We don't even have any assurance that they stuck together. What if they're scattered out there?"

"Do you suggest we just leave them and hope they come back?" I demanded, outraged.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting," Cato replied grimly. "Look I'm not happy about it either, but there's nothing we can do for them. They made their own choice. We'll just have to hope they found some way to mark their progress. Who went?"

"10 of them, both numbers 4, 6, 7, 9, and the boys with 5 and 8," Peeta said. "They woke up this morning and saw that the walls had opened. I told them that you were out exploring it and that they should stay put, but they pushed past me and vanished."

"Well we'll just have to see if they do come back," Cato sighed, running a hand through his hair. He stabbed the ground angrily with the point of his sword, causing it to sink a good 6 inches deep.

"If?" a small voice asked quietly.

I quickly turned and spotted Rue, who had crept up on our conversation unnoticed.

"Yes, Rue, if," Cato replied quietly, bending down to look Rue in the eye. "Their fate is out of our hands right now. Let's just hope they were as smart as we were about being in a foreign place."

"Well, there's still enough lunch left for the 3 of you if you're hungry," Peeta said, jaw clenched.

As the others walked back to the house, I grabbed Peeta's arm and held him back.

"Are you ok?" I asked, my hand still resting on his elbow.

"I don't like this," he replied, brow furrowed. "I still think we should try to go after them. They're one of us; we're all stuck here and we need to look out for each other."

"Look let's just see what happens," I said. "Maybe they'll be back soon. If they're not back by dinner, I'll talk to Cato about going out to look for them. He's not a bad guy you know. I'm sure he's worried too but he's right. We can't risk more of us to look for them now. They made their choice."

"You're right," he conceded, rubbing his forehead. "It was their choice. I just hope nothing happens to them."

"So do I," I replied, smiling up at him. "Now what about that lunch?"

Laughing lightly, Peeta briefly put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed. Blushing, I led the way back to the kitchen where Cato had managed to make a huge mess of the leftover lunch. While he and Peeta, outraged at the clutter, pretended to wrestle on the hardwood floor over who had to clean the smeared egg salad and fruit, Clove and I munched on our sandwiches.

"What's going on?" Glenn asked, casually strolling into the kitchen and eying the two shouting boys with amusement.

"Apparently, Peeta is very protective of his kitchen," Rue giggled.

"Any word on the ones that went into the Maze?" Becca asked.

"Nothing so far," I said. "Cato wants to wait to see if they come back on their own before going out ourselves to look for them."

"I say leave them out there on their own," Glenn said, frowning. "If they want to go out on their own and satisfy their curiosity, let them go."

"We'll see what happens," Cato panted, spread eagle on the floor while Peeta leaned against a wall next to him. "If they're not back by nightfall, then we'll form a new plan. Meanwhile, there are things to be done here."

"Yeah, like you'd be much help now," Glenn snorted.

We spent the rest of the day occupied with chores and I assisted Peeta again with dinner. He made enough for 24 instead of 14 just in case the stray group found their way back. I constantly checked the window to see if I could spot them returning, but my hopes sank as the sunlight dimmed. Surely they'd make camp outside the walls if they were caught there at night.

"I think the bread should be-" Peeta muttered before being interrupted by a rumbling and grinding outside.

Exchanging panicked looks, we ran outside and met the rest of our group as we stared in horror. The gaps in the walls were closing. Peeta ran to the nearest, grabbing the sword that Cato had left near the entrance.

"Wait what are you doing?" I yelled as I sprinted after him.

"We have to stop the gates from closing!" he replied frantically trying to shove the sword into the ground and bracing it against the rapidly closing walls.

"Get back!" Cato shouted as he ran past me, tackling Peeta to the ground in time to prevent him from being trapped between the two sliding walls. "Have you got nuts?"

"They're trapped out there now!" Peeta bellowed as he struggled against Cato's harsh grip, their wrestling genuine and desperate this time.

"And what did you hope to accomplish by getting yourself killed?" Cato demanded. He finally managed to pin Peeta's arms behind him and sat on his back. "They're out there. They're on their own, at least until morning. When the gates open again, we'll go find them. I promise you."

"Fine," muttered Peeta into the grass. He shot up immediately after Cato released him, brushing dirt off his jacket and pants. "We should have gone out for them earlier."

"Yeah and then we'd all be trapped outside the walls," Clove retorted. "You think that'd be better?"

Peeta fell silent, staring at the seamless wall that showed no signs of having been opened just moments ago.

"First light, we'll go out looking for them, Peeta," Clove said, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Alright," Peeta replied. "Well, the food's probably burnt by now."

Our dinner was silent and tense that night, all our thoughts on the 10 kids outside in the Maze. My stomach turned when I thought of the creatures that were out there with them.

"Katniss?"

"Huh?" I looked up and saw Peeta looking at me with concern.

"Are you done?" he asked. "Newton wants to clear the table and the rest of us are going outside to see if there's a way to get on top of the wall to see if we can see the others."

I realized that everyone had already left the table and the cleaners were staring at me impatiently. I smiled apologetically and followed Peeta outside.

Cato had already begun climbing the wall and was about 6 feet up when he yelped.

"What's wrong?" Clove shouted up at him, craning her neck to see.

"A spider's up here and it's attacking my hands," he grunted, swiping at them.

I heard it moving around among the leaves of the ivy and spotted the tell-tale red eye flitting above Cato. I grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it, hitting the spider square on its body. I heard it emit a quiet, angry shriek before scuttling off.

"Thanks," Cato sighed, looking down at us. "Keep those rocks handy in case it comes back."

Grunting, he managed to get halfway up the wall before the skittering sound of the metal spiders returned, this time in larger numbers. Dozens of red eyes appeared from both directions along the wall and converged above Cato's head. He eyed them warily.

"Cato, I think it's best if you get down," Peeta warned anxiously. "I don't know what those things are capable of but it's obvious they don't want us up there."

"Alright, alright," Cato conceded. "I'm getting down. You happy now?" He glared at the spiders, still staring down at him, before climbing down quickly, dropping to the ground when he was close.

"Well they're definitely on their own until the gates reopen, hopefully when the sun rises again," he said, breathing heavily.

"We'll still keep the watch," Marvel said, nodding to Glimmer. "You guys look like you could use some rest."

"No I'm-"

"No, Cato, you're _not_ fine," Glimmer retorted. "Your face is smudged with dirt and you have leaves in your hair. You could use a hot shower and some sleep to get nice and pretty again."

She grinned at him and winked. Cato simply snorted and stalked into the house, slamming the door.

"Who the hell made _him_ our leader?" the 9 boy grumbled.

"Are _you_ going to challenge him?" Marvel asked, eyebrow raised dubiously. He sneered when he received no reply and ordered him back into the house to prepare for bed. The boy turned just as he got to the door and opened his mouth to shout back.

"You-"

He was interrupted by a chorus of mechanical clicks, shrieks, and whirring, sounding fairly far from us. It was identical, but fainter, to the sound we heard last night. We ran quickly toward the noise and I pressed a hand against the ivy.

"What the hell is that?" Marvel asked breathlessly.

"It's what we heard last night," Peeta muttered. "You think it found the others?"

As the words left his mouth, terrified screaming erupted from beyond the Wall, followed by a recurrence of the mechanical noises. Suddenly, one of the creatures passed just on the other side of our wall, causing all of us to jump back hastily. The ground rumbled and shook as it approached and it shrieked as it rounded a corner and headed away from us.

"We have to get back in the house," Glimmer shouted urgently.

"You really think that's going to help us if one of those things decides to climb the wall?" Marvel retorted.

I heard shuffling to my left and quickly turned, fists at the ready. It was Peeta, climbing up the ivy determinedly.

"Peeta, get down from there!" I screamed. "Those beetles-"

"What are they going to do?" he shouted down, still climbing. "I need to see what's going on. Maybe we can throw them some weapons or even get them over the Wall if they're close."

He hadn't climbed more than 2 feet before a loud_ BOOM_ shook the entire area, knocking him off the Wall. It was quickly followed by another, and another, and another, and another. 7 in all that I counted. I glanced back at the house and saw the windows trembling. Cato had come running out of the house, followed by the rest of our group, wearing nothing but a white towel around his waist after the second boom and Marvel quickly filled them in.

"Seven explosions," he muttered. "What does that mean? Did they set off some kind of booby-trap?"

"Guys get over here!" Thresh shouted urgently, eyes wide and staring high into the sky. He stood about 20 feet behind the rest of us.

I quickly ran with the group toward him and gasped. A hole in the dark sky had opened, a hole blacker than the night sky and completely devoid of stars. A large claw-like contraption dropped down and disappeared from view behind the Wall.

"What-" Newton began before he was quickly hushed.

"Wait," Cato whispered, tense.

I grasped Peeta's hand as the claw rose up past the Wall, a small, limp body in its clutches. It was too dark and too far to make out details but the figure in its grip was clearly human, and it was clearly dead. Its head and limbs flopped limply as the claw receded back into the sky, only to reappear. Six more times it dipped down and each time, an unmoving human form was lifted. Peeta's grip on my hand became tighter and more painful with each body but it was a grip I reciprocated.

They were dead. They had been killed. Whoever was behind these "Games" was killing us. They were allowing us to die, horribly. All hopes that this was a benevolent Game vanished from my mind and horror seeped in instead.

Rue let out a pitiful sob as the last body was lifted into the sky and the hole seamlessly disappeared. I released Peeta's hand and drew her tiny body into a tight embrace.

"It's alright, Rue," I whispered, planting a soft kiss on her dark head.

"They were out farther than we got this morning," Cato said tonelessly. "We probably wouldn't have found them without being trapped ourselves. Bed. Everyone."

For Rue's sake, I led the way back to the house, Marvel and Glimmer staying outside to keep the watch. Rue slept that night in my bed again, snuggled close to me. Twice more that night, cannons rocked the house, though the sound was more muted than outside. Rue simply stirred at each explosion but did not wake. I could not sleep. My mind kept turning over and over the thought that whoever had put us in here had left us to die. They had put us in here perhaps for that sole purpose. We were all going to die. That was the Game. The audience got to watch us die.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! I had thought I had published this chapter months ago but apparently not... Reviews are very much appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4: Reveal

"_Katniss."_

My eyes snapped open and swept the dim room, landing on a figure crouched next to my bed.

"Katniss, you need to see this."

"Peeta? What's going on? What time is it?"

"Just before dawn," he whispered, backing toward the door. "Come with me."

I slowly eased my arm from under Rue's neck and tucked her securely into the blankets. Giving her hair a soft stroke, I stumbled after Peeta down the staircase. Cato, Glimmer, Marvel, and Clove were gathered around the television. I vaguely registered that Glimmer was clutching Cato's arm tightly.

"What is this?" I asked wearily, still groggy from having unexpectedly dozed off.

"It's the kids who went into the Maze yesterday," Marvel replied, never taking his eyes off the screen. "At the stroke of midnight, the ground started shaking again and then the television turned itself on. 9 of their faces showed up, one after the other. They've been showing on repeat ever since. I didn't wake you guys earlier; I figured you could use all the rest you could get."

I stared in horror at the faces flashing across the screen, along with their corresponding numbers. 9 boys and girls that had been alive 12 hours earlier. They had died as part of a Game. My hatred for the audience of the Games increased. What kind of people found the murder of children entertaining?

The boy from 5, Edgar, was the only one of the group of 10 whose face hadn't shown up. He was the lone survivor, still trapped somewhere outside of safety. I shivered at the thought of the loneliness and sheer terror that he must have experienced as he watched each and every one of his friends die horribly.

"We have to go looking for him," I murmured. "We can't leave him out there alone. He's still alive as far as we know and might be injured."

"Agreed," Cato murmured. "It looks like we still have an hour before the sun rises. Peeta, Katniss, get started on breakfast and make extra for us to take into the Mazes. We'll go as far as we can today but we need to be back before sunset. Glimmer and Marvel, you've been up all night. Go get some rest and I'll wake one of you up before we leave. I'll take Clove and Katniss into the Maze with me again."

"I want to come too," Peeta said, clenching his jaw.

"Honestly, Peeta, I could use your help here," Marvel said sheepishly. "You're better with the younger kids than I am and I have a feeling once they realize fully what's going on here, they'll want to help in the search party for Edgar."

"I'll go then," a quiet, deep voice announced.

I turned and spotted Thresh glaring at us from the stairway. I was surprised to see him as he was one of the only ones that had kept to himself most of this time. The only person I ever saw him speak to was Rue.

"You guys will need some muscle if you get caught in a fight with whatever's out there," he continued despite our surprised stares.

"Welcome aboard," Cato replied, striding foward and shaking Thresh's hand.

Just as I scraped the last of my eggs off my plate with a slice of buttered toast, the increasingly familiar rumblings began again just as the sun peaked over the Wall. Cato immediately shot out of his seat, ran to the front door, and stuck his head outside.

"Gates have been opened," he shouted back to us. "Let's go."

I pushed back my chair and made to follow him.

"Wait," Peeta said, grabbing my elbow.

He handed me a black pack.

"There's enough food and water in there for the 4 of you for today," he said. "Be careful out there, Katniss."

Smiling reassuringly, I felt very touched by his concern and pulled him in for a quick hug.

"See you when we get back," I whispered. Turning quickly to jog to the door, I missed the light blush that colored his cheeks when I let go.

Cato was waiting impatiently by the Maze entrance that the 10 boys had disappeared into the day before.

"Thresh, I brought out some of the weapons from the shed in the back," he said, nodding toward a shiny pile of steel. "Ideally you'd be able to choose the weapon you want to take but I don't want to waste any time."

Thresh nodded at Cato before frowning his way to the weapons. He quickly glanced over the stash before picking up a curved sword, tempered into a semicircle. He slashed the air a few times before giving a satisfied grunt.

"Ready."

Cato led the way into the maze, hacking down some ivy so we could mark our progress.

"Wouldn't we make better time if we split up, Cato?" Clove asked.

"We'd cover more maze but I don't want to take any risks of losing someone else out here," he replied, squeezing the hilt of his sword. "Keep your eyes and ears open."

We wandered the maze for almost an hour and a half before we came across a disturbed section of wall. The ground was littered with leaves and it seemed some sort of struggle had occurred.

"You think they were here?" I asked, staring down at the gouges in the grass.

"Who else could it be?" Clove snorted.

"Why didn't we pick up their trail earlier?" I questioned. "There should have been signs that a herd of children passed through this area but this is the first sign that something had happened here we've seen all day."

"Well let's not waste an opportunity," Cato said, jogging after the trail of scarred grass.

With each turn of the Maze, the grass became more disturbed until we were simply stumbling over chunks of grass and overturned clumps of dirt.

"Stop."

I froze at Cato's whispered order, halfway through a step. Concentrating on keeping my balance over the rough terrain, I failed to notice that the grass and dirt had somehow managed to spray up onto the ivy covering the walls. Following Cato's tense gaze down the corridor of the Maze, my anger froze into shock.

The ground ahead was muddied by blood. That was where the 9 boys were killed by whatever roamed the Maze halls. Scraps of fabric could be seen poking through the gory mess. Cato slowly walked forward and picked one up.

"Seven," he muttered before angrily tossing the wet material back to the ground. "Let's keep moving. It's clear they came this way and there could be another kid still alive out here."

I tried to make my way as gingerly around the gore as I could but by the time we made it past, our shoes were covered in a combination of grass, mud, and blood. I tried to ignore this fact as I followed Cato's back, biting back the sudden nausea. I definitely wasn't built for this.

At noon, I stopped everyone and distributed sandwiches and replenished water. We ate quickly and soon was back on the trail. Feeling slightly sleepy from my full stomach and lack of real sleep, I hypnotically marched after the others, falling back slightly.

"Keep up, Katniss," Clove shouted back to me, annoyed. "We don't-"

She was cut off by familiar, bone-chilling shrieks from directly behind us. I turned and came face to face with what appeared to be a giant, brown slug. It was translucent and left a trail of slime behind it as it moved. But unlike any slug I had ever seen, it was covered in metal arms tipped by pincers, sharp points, and rotating saw blades that grotesquely protruded from every angle on its body.

"Run!" I shouted, sprinting as fast as I could away from it.

"How the hell did it sneak up on us?" Cato bellowed. He took up the rear, pushing everyone forward in front of him.

The ground rumbled as the giant slug came after us, squealing the entire way and brandishing its assortment of weapons.

"Katniss, try to take it down with an arrow!" Clove screamed.

Steeling my nerves, I pulled an arrow out of its quiver and strung it on the bow clumsily, still running full tilt. I slowed down just slightly enough to allow Cato to run past me and skidded to a halt.

Aiming quickly and hastily, I launched an arrow and paused just long enough to watch it hit the slug squarely in the front of its "face," get sucked into its body with a mild _squelch_, and disappear entirely.

"No good!" I informed the others. "It's squishy on the inside. I doubt any of our weapons will do much against it."

Cursing, Cato again fell to the rear.

"I'll slow it down and you guys try to find a way around it and back to our trail. Head back to the house and keep everyone inside."

"No way, Cato," Clove replied. "Nobody gets left behind."

Grunting, Cato nodded and told us to run faster. We managed to put a few yards between us and the slug when we came up on an opening in the Wall that led to a brilliant light source.

I paused in front of it, hypnotized. It was completely open and blue. Outside of the Maze was…nothing. It appeared to be floating high above the Earth in the sky. I could see signs of mountains and trees through a light veil of haze. A cold wind blew through the opening and I was astounded to see a little pink songbird flit past me, entirely unaware of our predicament.

_What is this place?_

"Katniss!"

I heard Cato's shouted warning shortly before I registered the shriek of the slug just a few feet away from me. I spun toward it and quickly strung an arrow onto my bow, immediately realizing that nothing I did could save me. I looked behind me at the open sky, contemplating simply leaping to my death rather than being trampled by a giant mound of brown pudding.

Just as the slug's mechanical arms reached for my head, it jerked backward, letting out a loud screech.

"Katniss, go!" Thresh's voice thundered from behind the slug.

I ran around to his voice and found him and Cato hacking away at the tail. The slug was too large to be able to turn around in the narrow corridors of the Maze so it reversed, trying to run over the two boys instead.

"This is getting us nowhere," Cato grunted as he sunk the entire length of his sword into the slug's body, only to watch it completely sink into the gelatinous goop. "Shit, we need another idea."

"Lure it to the opening in the Maze and let it drop," I shouted, shooting an arrow pointlessly at a metal saw that grazed over Thresh's head.

"How the hell-" Cato started before we heard "Come this way you giant pile of turd!" from Clove. She had somehow maneuvered her way in front of the slug and was drawing it away from us.

"Clove, you have to-" I shouted.

"I know what I have to do, just shut up and let me concentrate."

The slug was only a few yards away from her but we watched, astonished, as it seemed to shrink into itself until it formed a ball. It retracted all of its arms into its body and, at an alarming speed, rolled directly toward Clove.

We heard Clove's startled scream as it approached her and, for a brief second, she was framed in the bright light outside of the Maze before she and the slug disappeared down the door.

"Clove!" Cato screamed, bolting toward the opening, the rest of us hot on his heels.

My stomach sank and hot tears threatened to spill across my cheeks. Another gone. Another one of us taken by the sadistic Games.

"Cato, get me the hell up!" Clove's faint voice rang out from under our feet.

I saw Cato bend down to grasp something and then pulled up an unharmed, but slightly disheveled, Clove. He pulled her into a tight hug before shoving her roughly against the ivy covered walls of the Maze behind him.

"Don't ever do that again," he growled inches from her face.

"Would you rather have died?" she sneered.

"Stop this now," Thresh hissed, his face pointed to the sky. "We only have a couple of hours before the gates close again. If we don't hurry now, we'll never make it."

"It's a good thing that the slug left us a good trail, then," Cato replied. "Let's go. We don't stop. We'll run 5 minutes, walk 10 minutes. Stick together."

He took off at a brisk job, the rest of us following. Clove pulled up beside me.

"There was something odd about the sky under the Maze," she announced, eyes boring into Cato's head.

"Odd how?" I asked. "Did the fall kill the slug?"

"That's the odd thing. It didn't reach the ground. It disappeared. I was concentrating on keeping my grip on the ledge of the Maze when the slug fell but I did see a black hole closing where it should have landed."

"That is strange," Cato replied. "Keep your concentration on running but keep that memory fresh in your mind. I suspect the others will want details when we get back."

Alternating between jogging and a fast walk, we managed to return to our ivy trail in less than 30 minutes. We took a couple of minutes to catch our breaths and sip at what remained of our water. I had dropped the pack Peeta had given me while being chased by the slug and we had found its tattered and flattened remains along the way.

The light was fading quickly and I was exhausted after hours of fast paced movement. Cato always stayed behind us, his shouted words of encouragement eventually turning into panted curses. I stumbled so many times that eventually Thresh just kept my left arm in his strong hand, simultaneously keeping me upright and pulling me forward.

Just as the sun was disappearing behind the Wall, we stumbled up to the entrance of to our home in the Maze.

"Holy crap, I thought we'd never make it pant," panted Clove. She led the way into the clearing, collapsing into the grass just inside of our homestead.

"You're back!" Peeta greeted us from the front door of the house. "There's something that needs your immediate attention."

"Can't it wait," Cato grumbled, hands heavy on his knees and chest heaving. He fell onto the ground next to Clove, his head cushioned on her stomach. "We've had almost no rest for the entire day."

"I think it's best if you guys came now," he insisted.

Thresh kicked at Cato's shins until he finally got up, halfheartedly throwing a punch Thresh's way. Peeta gave me a hand from my prone position along the edge of the Wall and led us upstairs to the boys' floor into the room marked 5/6. As he opened the door, I gasped.

Edgar, the lone survivor of the group of 10, lay limply in his bed, his veins bulging and tinged with green against his pale, sweaty skin.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading and happy summer adventures!


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